The Chronicles of a Mousehunter
by Karides
Summary: Catherine is the descendent of the legendary mousehunter Plankrun who had sealed the Forgotten Army into what was presently known as the Trap of Infinity and brought peace to the kingdom of Gnawnia. However when her father mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind a cryptic clue, it would seem that an adventure of her own is needed to get her father back. OC. T: Profanity
1. Chapter 0

**Disclaimer: I do not own Mousehunt in any way or form, but I do have the rights to the idea behind the plot of this story.**

**Chapter 0: Pinnacle Chamber - Prologue**

"Perhaps, oh young one. The answer you seek may lie beyond what your fragile body and feeble mind could ever withstand." An old, wizened voiced echoed throughout the chamber. "For the sake of your life, it is wise that you return to whence you came from and not think about it again."

Silence. It was as though the other person was trying to find the correct words to counter.

"No." She said, unsteadily.

He smiled, sensing her wavering confidence.

Yet… something was not right. The steely glint in her eyes spoke of untold determination. It…it can't be. She can't possibly have a death wish.

"No." She said again, this time firmer than ever. "I will not give up now. Not that I had come so far."

There was an audible sigh, as He slowly got up to His feet. Simultaneously, she stepped into attack position, her hand over the handle of her trusty horn. The other was resting upon her pocket, over a rectangular shaped slab that was slotted there.

"Very well."

His powerful voice reverberated across the entire room. Even the tiles sang of His strength as the girl trembled ever so slightly. Without a second thought, she smoothly drew the Dehydration base out of her pocket and slammed it upon the wooden floor. Then, with a flick of an experienced finger, a piece of Rumble landed exactly at one end of the white slab.

"AMBUSH TRAP, ACTIVATE!"

Right as her command ended, a thin piece of brown rice paper wall began to pop out and unfold from a tiny box at the other end of the base. Within seconds, the Japanese-looking paper divider was already set and the muffled humming of mechanical droids could be heard from behind the white screen.

Brushing aside the skulls of those that had fallen before Him with his furry feet, the Master of the Dojo nonchalantly intoned,

"Sometimes, you will need to die first before learning how to live again."


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Town of Gnawnia - First steps**

Catherine Plankrun inched ever so slowly towards the looming castle. Under the sweltering hot sun, the distance between the castle and her seemed much longer than before. Under normal circumstances, this would have been unneeded. Indeed, if the day had been a normal day, a visit to the castle would be the further thing away from her mind.

However, today was no ordinary day. In the kingdom of Gnawnia, it had been declared that once every able-bodied youngster reaches the age of sixteen, they have to visit the King. There, he would then see if one were eligible enough to gain the power of the fabled Pied Piper that had once cleansed the kingdom of its rat infestation a long time ago. Catherine, being a Plankrun, is even more so obliged to follow the footsteps of her legendary ancestor.

Soon enough, the banners of the Gnawnia castle fluttered into view. Oaken double-barrel doors greeted her in all its majestic glory.

"Miss. Are you here for your inauguration?" The guard by the door asked.

Catherine nodded, and soon she was ushered through the doors into the hallway by the same guard.

"Surely you must make us all proud. The mice had been ruining all the items we had in our kingdom." The guard was surprisingly talkative, but Catherine was by then not processing anything at all. "Chairs, carpet, cupboards and even our clothes. I swear they are getting out of hand."

Before long, they both stopped in front of a golden door carved with the insignia of Gnawnia, the infamous Horn of the Piper, also known as the Hunter's Horn.

"Good luck." The guard good-naturedly said.

Catherine returned a light smile before she slipped through the crack he had opened for her into the Throne room. There, sat the King.

Instantly, Catherine bowed.

"Plankrun, right? It had been ages since my predecessor set your grandfather on his epic adventure as Gnawnia's first mouse hunter. Since then, many had followed in his footsteps and I myself is curious on how you would have progressed through the land." The King surprisingly had a light tenor voice. Catherine was expecting a low solemn one instead, all gruff and angry at the destruction the rodents are wrecking in his land.

All of a sudden, the King snapped his fingers, causing an attendant to appear behind Catherine, almost scaring her out of her skin. In her hands was the sleek Piper's Horn… No, it could not be it. The real one was an ancient relic. This is merely a replica with only a fraction of power the real horn holds. However, it would work just as fine.

"I don't need a test?" She wondered out loud.

The King merely chuckled. "Testing a Plankrun? I don't think there is a need to."

Under the knowing grin of the King, Catherine sheepishly accepted the Horn from the attendant, as well as the Hunter's badge depicting a mouse sitting atop a hill within a shield crest.

Just as she wore it over her left breast, a new voice rang out in the throne room.

"Ah, so that is my new adoptee? Howdy!"

Without even a chance to prepare herself, Catherine was roughly swerved around by a burly and plump knight who then began to shake her by her shoulders. "You are so petite, I thought you might just be blown away by the wind! Hohoho!"

"Larry, she is only sixteen." The King said in a matter-of-factly. "And her name is Catherine."

"But the fact she is the same height as me means she is suffering from mal-nutrition!" Larry declared. "Catherine? Larry here. Naturally the Cat must hunt the mouse, eh?"

Catherine blushed.

"Only you will admit that you are short." The King sighed, exasperated by the over-enthusiastic behavior of his prized knight.

It was awhile before Larry could be convinced to calm down and it took another moment for Catherine to regain back her senses. There and then, Larry produced a thin wooden slab from his pocket.

"So Plankrun, I would be your mentor from today onwards and that means I would be giving you this, a wooden base. It is the most basic of the bases but it would serve you just fine." He then fished out a bottle of super glue and several chunks of cheap cheddar cheese from another pocket, handing them over to Catherine.

"You would have to make do with these for now."

Noticing the distasteful look Catherine was giving him, Larry instantly defended, "Well, I would have given you better traps and cheese if I could, but somebody just do not have enough gold in his treasury to spare."

The sound of throat clearing echoed.

"But of course, with all the hunters we have to fund, it was no wonder." Larry hastily continued. "Now, you got your base, your bait and your trap, it is time you get your first mouse!"

With that, Catherine was ushered out of the throne room, leaving a livid King behind.

At the end of an isolated alley, just in front of a mouse hole in the wall, a wooden slab sat with tons of glue poured on top. Along with the glue was a piece of cheddar. In front of the simple trap, a girl stood with her horn in hand.

"You ready, girl?"

Catherine nodded in reply. Lifting the mouthpiece to her lips, she took a deep breath and blew. Her finger ran through the whole length of the horn as they attempt to produce different keys to make a simple soothing melody. It was not perfect, but it was definitely enough.

Just as the melody goes into crescendo, a tiny nose with trembling whiskers popped out from the mouse hole and it was not long before a tiny white mouse scurried around the wooden base, trying to find a way to the cheddar cheese without stepping on the unknown white substance. However, as the melody came closer and closer to the climax, the greater its desire slowly become, until the point where it could not restrain itself anymore. In an act of foolish bravado, the white mouse jumped right at the cheddar with careless abandon, successfully entrapping itself into the worst fate living flesh could ever meet – death by super glue. Or rather, it would still be alive until the point the hunter has to peel the mouse off the base.

**That** is not a pretty sight.

It was perhaps very obvious that Catherine Plankrun walked out of the alley 105 gold pieces richer.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Meadows - Birthday revelations**

The heart-breaking tune suddenly came to an abrupt end as the cage of the Mouse Mary O'nette slammed on to the poor granite mouse.

"Good job, lassie! Now, lets move on to our next hunt!" Larry exclaimed in his usual demeanor

"Larry. I am tired." Catherine whined.

"It had been a whole day and it is my birthday today…" She trailed off. "I just want to spend the remaining time of my birthday **not** hunting mice."

With that, Larry was swayed.

"Ah… well… I guess it is enough for today. I mean, look at the time!" Indeed, the sun is setting across the horizon, bathing the town in a soft orange glow. "I will meet you tomorrow back here okay? We will be getting you your Trebuchet."

"Take this." It was a pouch. "Ever wondered where I got the gold from to pay you for each mouse you catch? Put a mouse in and then get the gold out, if you are planning to hunt later on in the night. How does it work? Don't ask me."

And then, he was gone. Seconds after he disappeared out of sight, Catherine smiled tenderly.

"Sorry Larry, but I really need to make it to my birthday party tonight." She silently whispered before packing up the Mary O'nette into her backpack and heading towards the town gates.

The meadows were a calm dark blue after the sun set. Somewhere to the side of a gate, a fire was burning. A long table lined full of goodies stand right next to the roaring flame, and right in the middle was a beautiful cake.

There, Catherine's parents and friends await the arrival of their newly instated mouse hunter. The moment Catherine caught sight of them, she literally flew right into their midst.

"Mom! Dad!"

"So how goes our young mouse hunter? We knew you would be eagerly hunting all day, and so we held your party here at night, away from all the sleeping residents of Gnawnia." Father said, as he proudly set a party hat upon Catherine's head.

"Seeing you just brings back memories of when George and I went hunting together upon the Huntington…" Mother just trailed off, apparently lost in thoughts.

"Your mother and I wish to give you some of our old traps and bases that we thought might come in handy to you." Father said, as he took out a pure white slab from his pocket. "This is my Dehydration base and it is now yours. Your mother wishes to give you her Venus mousetrap, but apparently it died. It was such a long time ago too… but I believe you might still find some use for it."

As she took both the base and the husk of the dead plant from her parents, Catherine managed to find the words,

"Thank you."

With the star of the show in place, the party could finally begin.

And party they did until it was disrupted with a cry.

"Mouse! There is a mouse here!"

"It is stealing the food, and the cake!"

Instantly, Mother and Father sprang into action. Even before Catherine has the chance to pull out her horn, her parents already had their own horns to their lips and were blowing a perfect symphony of chords of compliments and clashes with each other. The only thing lacking was that they did not deploy a trap. How could they have when they did not bring it with them?

Catherine noticed this almost immediately and within a matter of seconds unpacked the Mouse Mary O'nette on top of the new base she had gotten from her father. With careful precision, she then set a piece of cheddar at the other end of the base. Now, it is time to wait.

Before long, the mouse was lured out into the open with the intertwining melodies and no sooner did it see the cheese that it went straight for it. The cage came crashing down not a moment too soon as the duet came to an end.

Catherine was about to lift up the cage to retrieve the mouse when her father suddenly stopped her.

"It will just dash out again. You have the Pouch, don't you? Watch." He took her Pouch and placed it near the cage before lifting it up just a bit. In the blink of an eye, the dwarf mouse was sucked right into the leather accessory and disappeared, leaving only a piece of old worn out parchment behind.

Father took one look at it before his face totally changed.

"How…"

Right on the page, under the first journal entry was the initial P.

"How could such a low level mouse get a hold of my father's journal? What… what does it mean? Is he…"

Catherine herself was confused, as well as the other members present. Nobody could make sense out of what Mr. Plankrun was saying. After all, isn't Catherine's Grandfather already dead?

Afterwards, in the remainder of the party, all Father would say was, "I have to find him… I have to find him…"

The cake just didn't seem to taste as nice as it looked anymore.

And the next morning, he disappeared without a single trace.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Harbour - SWMNBN**

Three days of consecutive hunting at the Harbour of Gnawnia was tiring, but nothing could sway the girl to rest her tiring body. Not even Larry could shake her from her zeal, not when she needs to level up as quickly as possible. The sooner she did so, the faster she can access new areas to find out where her father had disappeared to. Whatever realization he had when he saw the journal that was assumed to belong to her grandfather, it had caused him to pack up his old traps and vanish completely from Gnawnia.

Even Mother had resigned to that fact.

"_Wherever he go, he will come back soon." She said, in a defeated tone so unlike the fire she usually possess._

However, Catherine will not just simply accept that. When a week had passed without news, she decided that things could not just carry on like this. If there were no news, she would just have to find some herself.

"A little bit more to Journeyman…"She mumbled incoherently.

The badge she wore was a shade of yellow carrying a tinge of orange. Soon, it will completely change and the sentries guarding the mountains will then let her pass. From there, she can then access the more precarious places professional hunters including her father had gone to before her.

Trying to keep herself awake, Catherine put a piece of marble on the Swiss Army Mouse trap and raised the Hunter's Horn to her lips again. With it, a sorrowful, tired tune began to play.

Minutes passed, but nothing came. Just as she was about to give up and stop, a Pirate mouse sauntered into view. Catherine, noticing her prey, began to play with renewed fervor. However, in both her tiredness and desperation to catch a mouse, she had failed to notice a string hanging right above her right shoulder.

The Pirate inched closer to the cheese, as though it was hesitating about approaching the trap. Just as it was about to activate the lethal knives that would have minced it into pieces, another furry rodent dropped itself upon Catherine's shoulder.

The resulting scream was loud.

Like any other normal person who was suddenly assaulted, she forgot all about blowing the horn and instead flayed it about in an attempt to strike off this unknown assailant. It was enough for the Pirate to take the chance to break out of his trance and with a swipe of his cutlass, looped the marble cheese off the trap and fled.

This was not all. Within seconds, Catherine could feel the weight she was carrying being lightened considerably. A few meters away, a Burglar Mouse was scampering away with a satchel of gold in his paws.

The only thing that went through her mind at that moment of time was to get her gold back. Cursing under her breath, Catherine made to chase after the thief, but before she could even take five steps, she tripped.

As she started to black out, the "rock" she tripped over uncurled itself to reveal a sinister Granite mouse.

A warm bed … in a wooden room… with a simple window that light is shining through.

_Where am I?_

"I see you are awake." A soft voice whispered. "You had been sleeping the whole afternoon away."

Catherine groggily turned her head, only to be greeted by a beautiful woman with long auburn hair. Yet, such beauty was wearing long overalls that are filled with gadgets and random weird items poking out of every pocket.

If Catherine has to hazard a guess, this woman must have been a tinker.

"Don't worry. You are on my airship." She made to pour a glass of water from a jug on a small table. "If you don't mind the simple fare, you may rest until you are okay to go. Here."

She handed Catherine the glass.

"Who are you?" Catherine put it perhaps a little bit too bluntly.

Instead of being offended, the woman gracefully chuckled. "I have not introduced myself yet, have I? I am Ronza. Nothing much, I am only just a traveling merchant. Normally I would be in the skies, but since the King requested something from me, I am now stuck here on land."

"Mind you, your scream was pretty loud." She winked, which Catherine blushed to. "Perhaps you could tell me why a hunter like yourself was lying spread-eagle over at the wharfs with at least five mice trying to make a hole in your cheese pouch?

And thus, Catherine told her about her (WHU; writer hates you) encounter, ending it with a slight giggle of her own. On retrospect, it would have been very much comedic to see.

Just as she ended her tale, Larry came crashing into the room, effectively de-hinging the door in the progress. A flustered assistant entered as well, and noticing Ronza in there, started apologizing for the intrusion.

"MY WORD! YOU HAD ME WORRIED!" Before Catherine could recover from the door-busting tirade, Larry had grabbed her off the bed and was shaking her by the shoulders. "Imagine how frantic I was when I came back to see the trap there, the backpack there but NO CATHERINE!"

"Lucky I met someone who told me he dropped an unconscious you off at Ronza's, otherwise the King is going to be so mad!" It was then he noticed the other woman in the room. "I am grateful madam, for housing this stupid fool. It's a miracle this kind of thing did not happen earlier with you not sleeping for three days."

Ronza arched her eyebrow. "Three days… you must have been crazy, or desperate, or both."

But Catherine was not listening

"A man, Larry?" She asked, hope rising in her voice. "Who is he? What does he look like? Is he my father? Is he?"

Her hopes were dashed when Larry shook his head. "I know your father, lassie. It was not he. The guy I met was a shrouded figure, unless your dad has a knack for wearing cloaks…"

There was a loud sound of throat clearing and the both of them turned their head to the third person. What they saw was completely different from what they expected. It was too horrifying for ordinary words to describe. It was so terrifying that even the mighty Larry who was about to continue to say something cowered into a small whimper.

Ronzanger.

"I am Ronza, traveling merchant, item collector, blimp owner. I am also a gossipmonger. When I am curious about something, I want to know all of it. The thing I hate most is **being ignored **and it is high time you tell me everything." She grinned evilly, unveiling a crate that is sprouting what seems to be like octopus tentacles.

"Don't expect to leave just like that after you broke down my door, or I will show you why so few dared to speak my name."

Catherine did not even know how she survived that particular encounter. They had been ushered out of Ronza's blimp after she forced the two of them to tell her what had happened until now. Now, Larry was sleeping while she herself was watching the stars in the nightsky, pondering over her meeting with Ronza.

It was not quite a bad thing actually.

"_I am not really sure on how to find your father, but traveling across the world has enlightened me much. I might be able to point you in the correct direction Go seek the Sylph in Whiskers woods. It might have caught wind of him." _

_Ronza paused._

"_It is not hundred percent certain, but it is your best bet. Good luck, and don't force yourself over your limit any more." She finished with an encouraging smile._

_Catherine gratefully nodded and was about to turn to leave when Ronza spoke up._

"_You know, I took the liberty of seeing what is in your backpack and was quite surprised by the things you have there. For a soon-to-be journeyman, it was incredible. Oh, if you don't know what the hat is for, try combining it with a robot." She hinted with a smile. "Here."_

_Ronza unlock a trunk and took out a hammer of which she put into Catherine's hand._

"_Allow me to present to you your Hunter's hammer."_

a.n: SWMNBN – She who must not be named


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Calm Clearing - Of the Winds**

Weeks passed as Catherine strived on in her endeavour. Slowly, gradually, she had matured and grew in experience. No longer was she the naïve novice that first got her Horn, nor was she as stupid to allow low-tier mice trick her again like they did in the harbour. Right now, the young master was trekking across Whisker Woods in search of her objective.

However, she was still as face-palm worthy as ever.

_Bam._ "OW!"

"Watch that branch, dear, I am sure you wouldn't want to crash into more." Larry struggled to cough down a laugh.

Rubbing her sore forehead, Catherine winced.

There was a sudden loud squeak, scaring the both of them out of their skin, before a hiding chameleon mouse scampered off into the undergrowth.

"The strange mice of this region seemed to have taken on characteristics from the surrounding wildlife." Larry sighed. "Bears, owls, foxes… We have been hunting for several days, and yet the Sylph is nowhere to be found. You are even a Master now, Catherine."

Catherine herself was silent as she drew out a mechanical cube from her backpack before setting it on top of her dehydration base. It was not large, but not tiny either, and it seems to be able to unpack itself into something.

With that, the newly instated Master put her horn to her lips, the glint in her eye unnerving.

A soft, calming note disrupted the quiet air, which quickly turned into a quick and light minuet. The delicates notes blended themselves into the light rustling of the leaves and the dainty chirping of the winged inhabitants of the forest. The trees gently swayed as the song washed over them, as though the song itself was one with the forest.

It was a song of the winds.

At first, it was unnoticeable to her, but as the transparent green being become more and more solid, Catherine saw the entity floating in between two of the trees. It was a tiny little thing, but it was clearly unmistakeable.

That had to be the mouse of the wind. Now if only…

The Sylph swayed as it neared the Swiss cheese, following the minuet with its rhythm. As the song shifted onto a high key, one can also see the mouse jump a little. All was good; the mouse is under the trance.

"_Now, I am going to teach about different trap types. I suppose you need to know now that you had advanced this far."_

_They were at the trap smith in Gnawnia, picking up Catherine's new trap. _

"_There are different kinds of traps available – Aggressive and Passive. Passive types are like the low level SAMT and the Mary O'nette. They require you to wait for the mouse to come over to the cheese before they set off. You can't do it any other way. On the other hand, most higher level traps are aggressive and they work differently."_

_Larry picked up a mechanical cube from the shelf._

"_For example, this. An aggressive trap allows you to incorporate more strategy in your mouse hunting. It may and will attack all mice you need it to attack, even before the mouse come under your horn's power."_

"_Now, this is voice-commanded. See? To use this, you say…"_

"DEATHBOT, ACTIVATE." Catherine yelled.

Instantaneously, the cube unfolds itself into a menacing spider-like robot with a razor sharp saw and gattling gun as arms. Two laser guns sprout out from under the head and consequentially fired a beam of intense energy at its target. However, the Sylph, with the disruption of the song, had already snapped out of its trance. With an angry squeak, it lunged out of the path into safety before it started squeaking a whole lot more.

Just when the Deathbot was about to fire another laser, there was sharp _Zing. _A thin blade of air hurtled towards the machine and cleanly sliced off the laser guns. However, the Deathbot was not yet done. It began to fire its deadly gattling gun at the wind mouse, perforating the peacefulness of the forest with gunfire. If that was not all, half a dozen missiles were launched right at the tiny being.

It was as if it was certain doom for the Sylph. Yet, the air around it suddenly began to swirl, forming into a clear green sphere, which disappeared into explosions as the missiles impacted. When the smoke cleared, the mouse was still standing.

"Foolish human, I am of the Wind." A deep rumbling sound echoed. "Modern weaponry will not hurt me."

Catherine froze. Did she hear what she just heard? Judging by the confused look on Larry's face, it seems that the mouse just _talked_. Impossible. Mice do not talk, unless…

"Telepathy." Catherine uttered in realisation.

"Correct, human. However as you may have suspected, the higher tier mice are **able** to talk." The emphasis on _able_ was not missed. "As we mouse kind restraint ourselves and become civilised, we too are able to communicate within each other and act _human."_

It sounded just like a tall story ripped out from a fairytale.

"In time, we are even able to curb our desire for cheese.It is only the Horn you hold that releases our self-restraint and reverts us back to the common mice that you see."

The Sylph mouse continued.

"I know of your purpose in seeking me, for the wind hears much."

"I am of the Wind."

**Show me the extent of your will.**

The eyes of the mouse flashed a dangerous red as a burst of power erupted from the tiny entity, sending the wind into a wild rampage. Trees groaned from the heavy gale and animals fled from the incoming destruction that is about to follow, but Catherine did not budge a single inch. Amidst all the chaos around her, she calmly held the horn up and took a deep breath, unfazed eyes never leaving the source of the growing storm.

Then, she blew, calmly, slowly, like a lone figure standing in the face of an overwhelming army.

The song that came through was as though a soothing lullaby. If the gale caused by the Sylph was the storm, then the song was its eye. The calmness of the tune reached outwards in a growing crescendo and clashed against the chaotic power in a titanic show of force, Catherine's will against the might of the Wind.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Laboratory – Nuclear cheese**

Somewhere else…

The sinister looking tower shot out purple bolts of energy faster than anyone could count, but yet, its opponent managed to dodge as fast as the mysterious contraception could fire. Even as chunks of ancient cheese started to hail down a moment later, the mouse was literally unaffected.

"You can throw out as many of those as you want, human, but I will not be as easily distracted by them as you think."

A moment later, a blast of arcane energy burst forth from the being, blasting off one of tower's apex within a blink of an eye. Yet, even as the energy continued to surge forth from the mouse in an attempt to destroy it entirely, a thin violet barrier started to form over the tower from the Onyx stone as it protected itself from the Acolyte's devastating effects.

"I know that, little piece of shit."

Taking advantage of the opening the Acolyte's attack have given him, the man smashed his Hunter's Horn right over the Ancient's head, causing the hood of the mouse to fall off and reveal demonic red eyes.

"Tell me where my father is." He said, ascertain of his victory. "Or else you will be…"

He trailed off as he suddenly noticed how bright the mouse's eyes were becoming.

"Or else what, human?" An edge of fury previously not present in the Acolyte's voice now showed. "You are in MY realm and you dare to think you can win me?"

"Now die."

And the whole area burst into shades of purple.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!" Larry exclaimed for the hundredth time.

"You are like some lone hero fighting against an impossible force during that fight. I never actually thought you could make that pesky fellow submit, you know. I have just become your fan!"

"Stop it Larry. We have trekked up the mountains and into the Lab and you are still saying that same thing over and over again." Catherine sighed, feeling the same exasperation anyone would feel having to deal with an over-enthusiastic knight.

"Oh." Larry replied, a little dejectedly at Catherine's lacklustre response. "But still, it is amazing how that Sylph went into your Horn eh?"

True enough, after the battle the wind mouse had told Catherine that her father was currently in a place where the wind could not reach, and thus it did not know his location. However, the Vampire mouse that resides in the mausoleum might have an inkling of such a place and she was advised to seek the former. Then, it abruptly dissolved into tiny green dust that was then absorbed by Catherine's hunter horn, leaving behind only a sentence.

_From now onwards, when your horn sounds, the winds will sing with you._

What did it mean by that? Catherine has no clue. Either way, she and Larry went to the mountains to get the map piece to the Laboratory. It was only after a few days before they manage to cross it to get here, including a freak encounter with an abominable snow mouse.

"Watch out!"

Catherine froze. What happened? Could it have been an ambush from the mice? Where? Catherine frantically scanned the area, only to see Larry bending down in front of her. When he stood up again, a green vial of sludge-like thing was in his armour-plated hands. Catherine had almost stepped on it, and while the consequences are unknown, she was sure she did not want to know.

"What is this thing?"

Larry pointed at the vial in a matter-of-factly. There, was a label that read [Radioactive Blue Curd Potion].

"Um… these are used to make new cheese?" Catherine asked sceptically, to which Larry nodded.

No words could come out of her gaping mouth.

"Are you really sure this thing will attract a mouse? I mean, its glowing blue for goodness sake!"

"You don't trust me? I am the one who mentored those Ladies and Lords out there in Gnawnia and journeyed with them all the way to Furoma and when I said they would attract the mice, they will attract the mice, young lady."

"They don't seem to like the cheese, Larry. I am having misses for quite some time now."

"Oh, we are aiming only for one type of mouse here, the rest will be caught in the Mausoleum. Besides, you will need it to find the Vampire."

"But…"

Unbeknownst to the two, a shadow had crept up upon them while they were bickering. Neither realised it before it was too late. The Monster mouse bellowed, scaring them out of their skin. What had greeted them was a chimera mouse that was twice Catherine's height and although she was quite short, the sight was still terrifying enough. Without looking back, Catherine scooped up her trap narrowly missing the mouse incoming fists and the two of them ran as fast as they could while screaming their heads off.

The Monster mouse stared at their rapidly retreating backs with hunger in his eyes. Then, in a sickening crunch, he smashed a nearby zombie mouse with his giant fist and ate the thing whole.

"Need… more… meat… more energy…to grow… to grow…"


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Mausoleum – Life and Death pt1**

The night was all the more menacing as the two of them dashed blindly out of the laboratory into the groves of slowly dying trees. Somehow or another, they found themselves right in the midst of a spooky abandoned cemetery when they stopped to catch their breath a moment later.

By then, the radioactive blue had gone stale and was oozing down the pure white base Catherine was holding.

Catherine, not noticing that fact, hissed as she struggled to catch her breath. "Larry, at the very least warn me of what I am going to catch the next time you try something like this."

"I didn't mean to… I mean, I thought your luck would help you, won't it? Beginner's luck, you see, not all the Ladies and Lords I have been with caught that mouse." Larry hastily said in a weak attempt to defend himself.

"That is what luck is for, right?" He finished unconvincingly, squeezing his eye shut for the eruption that is about to follow.

"You think luck is going to help me with…" She suddenly stopped and screamed.

Larry opened his eyes in confusion, only to see Catherine on the ground, her features showing a look of fright. When he finally turned to look at what Catherine was so fixated on, he gasped in a mixture of horror and surprise. "What in blazes…"

Floating in front of him was a pale translucent spirit. One can even see the ominous air hanging around it. Without a single hesitation, it went straight for Catherine's fallen backpack and started to rummage through it. Before either of them could recover from their initial shock, the ghost mouse was already making its escape with a handful of their gold.

There was a sudden black beam that flashed for that split second, and the next moment the mouse was gone.

A young male mouse hunter stepped out from behind a tombstone.

Catherine blinked.

The male hunter was holding an black glowing portal on top what seems to be an explosive base and was scowling like someone owed him something, not quite the knight in shining armour a young girl usually dreams of.

"I am Catherine. Catherine Plankrun." She replied unsteadily.

"And I am the great knight of the King, Lar…"

"Yes, yes I know. Larry right? I have heard of your name." The boy impatiently interrupted the knight, rendering the latter lost in dreams of his own fame before turning to speak to Catherine. "I am Crevice."

"Stay out of my way"

"What?" Catherine uttered in disbelief at the sudden hostility.

"I have spent days trying to get my Vampire and there is no way it is going to you. Take this as a warning." He snarled, perhaps out of frustration with all the DHU.

How could he… be so rude? Catherine was about to snap back when he suddenly held up his hand in a stop sign.

Then, turning his back to walk away, he said, "Before you say anything, perhaps you want to clear up all the mice you have attracted with that lovely scream of yours."

Not a moment too soon as he disappeared out of sight, the gravestones creaked as several mummies, ghosts, and a giant snail mouse sauntered into view.

Catherine could only stare at where Crevice was before, as Larry finally snapped out of his self-induced stupor.

"He…abandoned us?"

How could someone be so… heartless? Had the D.H.U froze whatever warmth his heart had? Maybe.

"Eh, Catherine… I think they are hungry." Larry pointedly said, look at the staling radioactive blue that was still on the dehydration base Catherine was unconsciously holding and then back to a Mummy that was by then drooling.

Then, said mummy mouse lunged right towards the girl.

Catherine flung her base away in shock as the mouse snapped its dangerous jaws, barely grazing her hands. The base, with the cheese, clattered and landed in between a pair of tombstones, while the rest of the mice moved. Some went for the radioactive blue, some went for Larry, and finally some went for Catherine.

The young mouse hunter recovered enough of her wits just in time to shout, "DEATHBOT, Activate!"

With a spluttering groan, the forgotten mouse-killer machine whirled into life and instantly sawed a nearby mummy mouse into half. Then, it lumbered and stopped in front of Catherine in a protective stance, machine gun firing at its master's enemies. Again, it was not quite the knight in shining armour a young girl is looking for.

A grateful pat on the robot's head later, Catherine dashed out from behind towards her Dehydration base, which was by then being attacked by several ghosts and a giant snail. It was her father's gift to her and there was no way she is going to let it be ripped apart! Gripping her horn as tightly as she could, she swung it downwards towards the gathering mice with the force of a raging bull.

There was a loud splat as the snail mouse burst into thick brown goo. The rest of the mouse scattered, fearing the same fate as Catherine scooped her base back. Then, raising her hunter's horn (with goo of course), she blew.

As the haunting melody echoed across the cemetery, the assaulting mice suddenly stopped and fell under its mysterious spell. Even the mummies crawling over and under Larry's armour began to leave him alone, and began to gather at where Catherine was. One by one, the mouse Deathbot used its saw to sever the mummies' head and one by one, the animated dead fell into a crumpled heap.

Just as it seems that it would be an absolute victory for the mouse hunter, a shadow flashed across the girl, knocking both the horn and the dehydration base out of her hands. In an instance, the spell was broken.

"Such a powerful human. I have not seen one since fifty years." The cloaked mouse spoke, revealing its fanged teeth. "Not all have the ability to enraptured several of our kind at once."

Larry took one look before exclaiming excitedly, "It's the Vampire mouse!"


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Mausoleum – Life and Death pt2**

As the aristocrat mouse slash his hand horizontally in a true vampire fashion, the heap of rodent bodies before Catherine suddenly came back to life. The mummies that the Deathbot have decapitated before are now crawling to where their head landed when it was severed. Then, with a sickening plop, they fixed their head back to their rotting torso.

"How…" The mouse hunter gasped, while Larry lurched and vomited his dinner.

The Vampire snarled. "Fool. Know what it means to be undead!"

It was as though the whole cemetery could sense the vampire's anger because right after his very words, dozens of ghost mice materialised by its side while more mummies and zombies joined the already overwhelming ranks.

"Now my undead army, destroy them."

As one, the ghastly numbers surged forward.

The Deathbot knows nothing about probability. In fact, despite having the odds stacked in their favour, it never once considered the chance that they might lose. Not in the past, not in the present and definitely not in the future. No, the Deathbot only knew one simple thing. The only thing programmed into its mechanical mind is, to obliterate all mice and to protect its master. Hence, when the undead army charged, it faithfully lumbered in front of Catherine and Larry in a protective stance and started firing its machine gun.

Yet, no matter how much it tried, what was doomed to fail will fail. Physical bullets only go through the ghosts without dealing any damage, while the mummies and zombies as demonstrated before could always rise again. The Deathbot was still firing even as the unyielding dead ripped it apart.

"Run, Catherine!"

Being practically defenceless, Catherine has no choice but to heed Larry's words. However, instead of following the knight, she ran opposite to Larry towards her forgotten backpack. There, she began to frantically dive though all her belongings for something that might be of use. As soon as she got to the party hat that was from her birthday party, a sudden stroke of realisation struck her.

"_You know, I took the liberty of seeing what is in your backpack and was quite surprised by the things you have there. For a soon-to-be journeyman, it was incredible. Oh, if you don't know what the hat is for, try combining it with a robot." She hinted with a smile. "Here."_

There is still a chance.

With all her strength, she charged recklessly right back into the fray towards her downed robot, her hope tightly gripped in her hands. Scratches left their mark on her arms as she shielded herself from the rodents but she still carried on against the undead flow, adrenaline dulling all the pain from the wounds. As soon as she reached the Deathbot, which was by then already lacking both its arms, Catherine slammed the hat down upon its head.

Please work.

Please.

It was a miracle. Right after the hat was attached to its head, the damaged Deathbot suddenly gave a loud whirl. With a booming clunk, it hoisted itself back onto its mechanical legs before turning to the attacking undeads. It then whipped out its rocket launcher and began raining missiles of doom upon the mice horde without any hesitation. Searing flames burst out from where they land and with luck, instantly swallowed surrounding ghost and zombie mice alike within its dancing incandescence.

While the Partybot was comfortably dealing with the minions, Catherine began searching for her dropped horn and base.

"Looking for these?"

Catherine turned, only to see the vampire mouse standing in front of her. There was a slight snicker as the thousand year old mouse dropped both the Hunter's horn and the Dehydration base right in front of its feet as though daring her to take them from him.

Catherine only eyed the vampire for a moment before she lunged, right at the same time the latter leapt. It was a wrong move on the young mouse hunter part. One moment she was about to grab back her horn, the other moment she only felt as though being hit by a train before she was blown all the way back to a tombstone, which she impacted on with a sickening thud.

Without missing a single beat, the vampire closed the distance and loomed over the weakened Catherine. One part of her mind mused on how a shorter vampire mouse could even loom over her while another screamed for her to move her battered body and get away. Yet no matter how she willed it to, she could only lie there uselessly with blood trickling down her forehead. Before her vision went out of focus, the last thing Catherine saw was the sharp fangs that the vampire had exposed so that it can finish her off.

"HAH! FINALLY I HAD FOUND YOU."

That voice seems familiar. Someone had joined in the fray, but who? Catherine searched her befuddled mind for an answer, but it was after the next sentence that told her who had came.

"Days of you eluding me shall now come to an end. Face the wrath of my portal, vampire!"

Crevice, the not so exactly the knight a young girl wants.

All that commotion must have drawn him here… wait, it was him that cause all this in the first place. Catherine realised in horror that she must have been used as bait, but the indignation was short-lived as she fainted there and then.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Mausoleum – The epic adventure of Larry the Knight**.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the other side of the cemetery, an armoured figure sat underneath a withered tree, pondering whether he had made the right decision.

"She will be okay, right? I mean, she didn't run the same way I did, that is her own fault, correct?" He asked himself, trying to convince his guilty conscience that he had not just left his charge back there to die and become another one of the restless undead. "Besides, Catherine is a strong girl. She will defeat the vampire just like how she defeated the Sylph…"

Larry trailed off.

Who was he kidding? That was a bloodthirsty vampire mouse for goodness sake, not forgetting to mention that it had a legion of ghastly zombies at its arsenal that can regenerate and resurrect themselves without end.

Even the Deathbot could not win.

"How… how am I supposed to even help?" He whispered, burying his face into his hands. "I only have a sword…"

He was only a knight, a knight of the King but nevertheless only a knight. The mouse trapping business are none of his business. Every time, all Larry had to do was to advise his charges on what to do and what not to do. If mouse hunters were astronauts, he was an astronomer. There was never a chance where he had to catch their mouse for them. However, even he knew that all those were a façade.

When he had told them that he will not help them catch their mouse, it was not as if he did not want to help.

He couldn't.

So why was he now crying over the supposed fate of one Catherine Plankrun? Or was he crying because of himself and his lack of ability?

"_Larry. I am tired." Catherine whined. _

"_It had been a whole day and it is my birthday today…" She trailed off. " I just want to spend the remaining time of my birthday __**not**__ hunting mice."_

_Bam. "OW!"_

"Watch that branch, dear, I am sure you wouldn't want to crash into more." Larry struggled to cough down a laugh.

"_Run, Catherine!"_

**You are still a coward, Larry, even after so long.**

An echo of someone he knew before sounded within his mind, pricking him, stabbing him and insulting him.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Larry stood up from his position. He knew what had to be done, ability be damned. He was going back, as a knight of the King and as Catherine's knight in shining armour.

He was going to try and save her.

"Now where was she?" Larry mumbled, searching the mausoleum for any disturbance as to where Catherine and the vampire would be. "I can't be lost, can I?"

A sinking feeling in his stomach just told him otherwise.

Larry groaned. "So much for going back and being a saviour in the nick of time when I can't even figure out where I am exactly."

There was a sudden movement right at the corner of his eyes and Larry instantly tensed. Inching slowly, he gradually lowered himself as soundlessly as possible and hid behind a tombstone, just in time before a wolf-like creature burst into view.

It howled, sending shivers down the knight's spine. The only thing that was going through Larry's mind was how much bigger it was than the vampire mouse.

"It can't be full moon tonight!" But it was. A glance at the night sky told him so which also affirmed the identity of the mouse only a few feet away from him.

"Damned lycan." He cursed.

At that sudden and unwise outburst, the Lycan suddenly halted whatever it was doing and stared at the tombstone Larry was hiding behind. It took only one sniff of its canine nose before it opened its mouth and spoke Larry's death sentence in a low gruff tone.

"Human."

Instinct urged him to move and Larry was glad he did, because a moment after he rolled out of his hiding place, the wolf-mouse blasted away the tombstone with a vicious kick of its hind leg. It quickly followed by slamming its feet down at where Larry was which the latter thankfully dodged in the nick of time.

Struggling to stand on his feet, Larry held his hand out breathlessly. "We can settle this without violence, you…"

He did not finish his sentence before the Lycan mouse charged and punched the short knight right at his abdomen, sending him flying a few feet away. In a span of a few seconds, the Lycan was already on top of the fallen knight, staring mercilessly into Larry's sweating face.

"Ah ha… ah ha... Do you know violence is a sign of pregnancy?" Larry lamely said, to which the Lycan only raised its monstrous fist before beginning to bash right down at his armour and helmet continuously.

Soon, Larry's face was a bloodied mess.

With every punch the Lycan give, pain shocked the whole of Larry's body as the dented armour started to cut into his flesh. Every blow dulled his senses. Soon, all life will be beaten out of him, and Larry the Great Knight will die in this god-forsaken place.

Blood was already staining the ground red.

Will someone remember him? Probably. But as what? Larry the Great Knight or Larry the Useless Idiot?

**Why are you content only to sit there and watch?**

**Why are you afraid of retaliating?**

**Why are you so scared of acting?**

**Fear is written all over you, in your face and your blade.**

**That is why you are so hesitant.**

**You are still a coward, Larry, even after so long.**

Something finally snapped.

"I AM NOT A COWARD!"

With a mighty heave, the knight threw the Lycan mouse on top of him to the side with all his strength, surprising the wolf-rodent hybrid for a moment. Then, he got up to his feet and unsheathed his silver sword, pointing it at the Lycan with a never-seen-before glint in his eyes. It was as though he had changed into a different person.

"I am Larry, Knight of the King of Gnawnia." Larry snarled. "Remember that well, monster."

And he charged, in a true Larry Jenkins way, for the first time in his life.

The Lycan only growled before it too charged to meet the oncoming knight. However, as powerful as the lycan was, it missed a crucial point, a point that will ensure in its ultimate defeat. All lycanthropes have one fatal weakness, and that is silver, silver of which Larry's blade was made of.

A thrust of the sword into the mouse's body later, a terrifying scream could be heard throughout the whole mausoleum, resounding in every tombstones of the Lycan's defeat. The silver poison burned and gnawed away the insides of the Lycan's body, until the point the glow in its eyes dulled and finally turned blank.

It was only then Larry pulled out his sword and collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, the adrenaline ride over.

"Oh, what was that?" Larry asked, grabbing a piece of cloth that had landed by his side for a closer look.

"Furoma, eh?"


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Bazaar – From the Darkness**

Catherine…

The world was dark. She could only see herself, yet even as she was alone, she could feel the presence of others, watching, observing, and waiting for that one temporary moment of weakness. Waiting for a chance to pounce at her most vulnerable. The others were gone, abandoning her to this eternal darkness where she would be left to fend for herself…

Catherine…

Who was that? Who would call her name in this god-forsaken place? Yet, even as her questions flooded her mind, purplish red pairs of eyes began to unveil themselves within the darkness, staring at her with malicious intent. It was creepy but what was weirder was the fact that a moment after, a heavily shadowed figure reminiscent of her father appeared before her what seems to be a tower-like object at his feet.

Catherine…

Catherine's eyes widened.

Bristle woods…. Acolyte realm… Don't…

They were the only words sounding through her head before disembodied tiny furry paws suddenly appeared and started to drag her father back into the darkness. He struggled and then the tower burst into life just as everything faded from view. Horrified, Catherine could not even react before similar appendages started to drag her as well too.

"No!"

She could feel herself sliding into the slimy inky darkness.

"NO!"

And she woke up to the surprised face of one mouse hunter known as Crevice.

"What was that all about, woman?"

There was a sound of a loud slap that shook the supports holding up the tent.

"Where am I? Why are you here? Where is my backpack? Where is my stuff? Where is my partybot?" The confused Catherine rambled, getting faster and faster as she rattled off. "Didyoucarrymehere? Didyoutouchme? Whyareyousoclosetome?"

And she finished off with a loud, resounding, "PERVERT!"

Crevice suddenly slammed something down on the ground as though giving an ultimatum, stopping the flushed red Catherine in her tirade of chastity. There, on the soil was her backpack as well as her deactivated Partybot. The Dehydration base from her father was there too, she noted with relief.

"This is your stuff, alright? Now stop shouting and screaming like you have been outraged." He huffed, looking away. "We are at the Bazaar, after that unfortunate accident with the vampire."

"Which you made me the bait of." Catherine interjected, only to quail at the glare Crevice was giving her.

"I saved you from it, so that makes us quits."

Catherine had no comments for that one. Fingering the bandage on her head slightly, she had to agree that without the irritating boy, she would have been vampire food. But still, something wasn't quite right. Was it not the right for him to save her from a situation he put her in?

"…you heard what I said?" Crevice face looked absolutely pissed.

"Umm… no?" She answered meekly.

"This is your ticket into the bazaar. You need one to come in here anyway. Don't worry about the cost. Just take it as an apology for what you had to go through."

At this, Catherine was surprised. Crevice actually had a nice side? Improbable. Just as she was dismissing the idea that the boy could be anything but nice, the young mouse hunter noticed the edge of her backpack seems to be glowing blue. Crevice too seemed to have noticed her gaze.

"Well, during the struggle, your base flew and landed on your backpack. The thing is, there is Radioactive sludge on it. So… umm," He paused.

"You have a new follower."

At that, a leaf brushed her left ear, and she jerked in surprise. Turning her head, she saw what she had not noticed before and honestly speaking, she was shocked through and through.

"IT IS ALIVE!" Catherine shrieked at the ugly-looking thing one normally call a Venus flytrap, only that it was currently moving and giving a said-equivalent of tilting its head at her sudden outburst. Add the fact that it had huge monstrous jaws and it was glowing green from head to toe, correct that, root, it was a sight to behold.

"Oh, it seems to have considered you as its mother." Crevice said with a smirk.

Catherine fainted.

"Why are you stalking me?" Crevice asked, exasperated, as he handed in his furoma map piece to the kind old man to be stiched.

"Seeing how only you have the map to Furoma, and I have nowhere else to go, I am going to follow you for the time being. Oh, there is no way I am going back to that cemetery again."

Crevice sighed. This is going to be a long day.

"Fine, suit yourself. Just don't get in my way."

Catherine nodded with a victorious smile as the Venus mousetrap that she had placed on her head happily chomped down one of the many Burglar mice that had been attempting to mug her ever since she stepped out of the tent.

"Good job Venny."

"You actually NAMED that thing?"

"Yep." Catherine chirped, to which Crevice face palmed.

Unknown to him, gripped tightly within the left hand of Catherine Plankrun, was an aged parchment crumpled into a ball. It held nothing of significance, one page being brown and the other completely black. However, if one looked closely enough, one would have seen a faded sentence scrawled in a faint untidy handwriting, as though the writer could not finish or merely forgot about it.

…**Master of the Dojo… Bristle woods lies the Forbidden Grove… Acolyte realm… The source of the all the disturbance…**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Training grounds – Hunter versus Hunter**

The assassin lurked, dancing from shadow to shadow as it moves itself closer to its target. Years of training had honed its well-toned muscles and powerful legs, enabling it to perform stunts that are normally impossible for those of its kind. It might be small but the mark of the shadow gleamed on its right shoulder, signifying just how adept it is to performing such dangerous tasks to earn the honour of carrying it upon its body.

Hunger boiled from within. Its desire was growing bit by bit, fuelled by an almost non-existent melody that the assassin could not hear. Its eyes were firmly fixated upon its yellow prey that trembled and quivered on white and black tiles as if beckoning it to come and ravish it with all its might.

So beautiful, so pristine…

It was so near, but yet so far. Caution must not be thrown to the wind; that was what years of experience had taught it, but the temptation within was slowly and surely growing. The assassin did not know how long more it could hold out for, for its disciplined mind was slowly being overtaken - reason losing to primal instinct as the maddening melody resonates again and again between its unhearing ears.

Before it knew what was happening, it had already stepped out of the shadows. Despite the fact that its body was literally screaming for it to stop in its reckless endeavour and hide, all the assassin could think of was what was in front of her, what it could have in a matter of seconds. There and then, it clambered up onto the base and reached out with its tiny hands to take its coveted prize…

_Whoosh._

The swords swung down and would have neatly cleaved the unfortunate mouse into three if not for its reflexes. Danger bells ringing, it quickly adopted a position that would have been impossible in normal situation just in time to avoid the thrust of a metal lance. However, when it tried to move a moment later, thick green vines from seemingly nowhere had somehow coiled around its limbs, restricting all of its movement. The last image it saw was of the lance coming down a second time.

Crevice breathed a sigh of relief as he scooped up his base and Zugzwang's Last Move before opening his pouch from the King to drop the impaled rodent through. A floating scroll instantly appeared above the pouch, opening magically and revealing cursive letters that detailed the weight of the killed mouse and the points and gold it earned the boy, as well as any loot it carried.

"Nine oz. Five thousand points and a whooping three thousand plus gold." Crevice muttered. "Additional satchel of gold worth one thousand …"

Meanwhile, Catherine Plankrun noticed a piece of paper at where the Assassin mouse was caught. Venny, which was put back on her head, used it jaws to grip onto the corner of the paper as she bend down and handed it to her just as Crevice read aloud the part which says "Ambush trap blueprints."

Their heads snapped to the object on Catherine's hand before looking at each other.

"ITS MINE!" They both shouted simultaneously.

"Finder keepers, loser weepers." Catherine smugly said as she waved the blueprint around to get it away from Crevice's hands.

"Damn you woman, I caught the mouse!"

The cry was indignant, to which Catherine inwardly snickered. Someone needs to knock this arrogant fellow down a few pegs.

"I helped or you would have missed it." The female mouse hunter defended. "Besides, you still owe me for the Vampire..."

Before she could finish, Crevice suddenly knocked her down and started to wrestle the blueprint out of her hands. Surprised by the sudden act of hostility, the blueprint was fished out of her hands before she could recover to her senses of being knocked down. It took all Catherine could to gather herself to drag Crevice, who was already getting back up on his feet, down again where a bite from the Venus mousetrap later, caused him to loosen his grip upon the paper. Snatching it away, Catherine disengaged herself from the tangled mess of limbs and scrambled to put some distance between the boy and herself.

Massaging her bruises, she warily watched Crevice pick himself up from the ground. If glares could kill, Catherine might have died a hundred times over.

_Bad move, girl. You just have to antagonise the jerk._

The Plankrun descendent inwardly sighed. While the two of them were not exactly very close, Catherine could swear Crevice dislike her very presence, they had both reached an understanding between themselves for the past few days. Working together to catch mice in the Training Grounds had netted them a bountiful harvest that even includes a pair of rare worker mice. Between Venny and Crevice's Zugzwang chess pieces, the two of them had shot up in points. Of course, there had been some differences but those are mild enough to be settled quickly.

Now, that fragile relationship had been broken over a piece of loot, or rather Catherine's poor choice in teasing the guy.

The shadows were covering his eyes, making it seems as though there was a weird gleam in them, giving Catherine an involuntary shiver. "I told you twice before not to get in my way but you are getting on my nerves."

"Catherine Plankrun, I hereby challenge you to a fight between mouse hunters, and the prize will be this… blueprint." He said.

"Fine."

At Catherine's declaration, their hunter horns belted to their sides suddenly glowed. Silver began to creep from the mouthpiece to the head until the entire originally bronze horn was shining silver. The horns had approved and the fight had begun.

Catherine instantly retrieved her partybot from her backpack just as Crevice took out a pair of antenna like things from his before putting it on. In total synchrony, the two of them shouted.

"Partybot, activate!"

"NVMRC Forcefield, activate!"

At once, the cube like thing Catherine took out unpacked itself into a familiar looking robot with a goofy birthday cake for a hat, while an orange barrier instantly formed around the "feelers" on Crevice's head signifying that it is active. The barrier suddenly pulsed before growing until it encompassed the whole of the boy and then, he levitated himself off the ground.

"You look like an alien, you know? All that orange and floating gimmick." Catherine said, a-matter-of-factly.

"Ah shut up. This is a force field and it allows me to fly. If you think incapacitating mice is the only thing it can do, then too bad for you."

"Still doesn't cover up the fact you look ridiculous."

Crevice only scoffed. "Prepare to lose either way. I will see you here in six hours with lesser points than me."

There was the faintest of smiles on Crevice's face the moment the two of them turned and dashed and flew off in different directions. Perhaps the situation between them was not as bad as Catherine thought after all.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Training grounds – Hunter versus Hunter pt2**

On top of a pure white base a plant stood, seemingly innocent. After all, a plant is a plant and no matter how ugly or the plainly obvious fact that it is actually glowing green, a plant could never move and is thus very harmless, right?

Wrong, as that was what a dozen ninjas and a samurai had discovered, lured by the addictive smell of Brie cheese and a simple oriental melody. One by one, they had came under the spell, and one by one they had fell into the trap and had their heads consequentially bitten off by Venny, the mutated Venus mousetrap. Said mousetrap was happily raking in points for its "mum", Catherine Plankrun, if the scroll detailing her catches was anything to go by.

However, Catherine's catching streak was soon to be disrupted.

Spying a kung fu mouse practicing its kata alone behind one of the target boards, the female mousehunter inwardly rejoiced at the supposedly easy catch. She placed her dehydration base down in front of her and quickly put a morsel of Brie on top before setting Venny down onto the base.

"Be a dear and catch that mouse for me okay?" She asked as she stroke the stalk gently.

Venny only gave her a cock of its enormous head but still stretched its roots to root itself onto the base all the same. To that, Catherine raised her now-silver horn to her lips and blew. It was the same oriental melody as before, but Catherine gave it a personal modification so as to enthrall the mouse better. With more emphasis on staccatos on the individual notes, it instilled a sense of discipline into the song, discipline that all martial arts practitioners hold in high regards.

Right off the bat, the kung fu mouse was spellbound, and would have followed the fate of many other mice before it if not for a certain disruption from a certain someone. To Catherine's horror another horn sounded, at first at the same note she was holding but gradually steeping to a semi-tone lower, resulting a horrible clash of sound. Catherine struggled to keep the song alive, but no sooner did she change key that the other horn adjusted so that it clashes exactly with her. It was enough to break the song and to another extent, the spell holding the kung fu mouse in check.

"Crevice!" Catherine yelled in admonishment, before turning back to the fleeing mouse. The mouse is after all more important. "Venny, get it!"

At her command, Venny's roots shot out and snaked towards the rodent's back, until a moment later, its attempt to catch the mouse was foiled again by numerous blasts of black and orange energy that severed its vines. Venny only gave a silent scream of pain while Catherine finally looked up to take a good look at Crevice.

The boy was still levitating using his force field but in additional, two other mirror-like things are floating in the orange globe with him.

"Now you really look like an alien." Catherine said through narrowed eyes.

Crevice only clicked his tongue in mock disapproval as he chided. " Tsk. Surely you must have recognised that I had activated my sinister and ambrosial portals within effect of the force field, and voila, you get floating… sentry lasers guns."

As if to prove his point, more energy blasts hurtled through the air heading straight for the ground.

"Get your own mice, Crevice!" Catherine shouted as she rolled to dodge a laser that was suspiciously aimed at her purposely. Scratch suspicious, seeing as it was Crevice who fired those shots anyway.

"Oh, don't worry, I am. I just figured that instead of catching more, preventing you from catching any would have been better."

Catherine glanced at the still fleeing kung fu mouse in sudden realisation, only to see that a sinister portal laser had blasted it off its feet and left it dazed on the dirt ground.

"And now, for my prize." Crevice said with a tone of finality as he swooped down in his force field towards the mouse.

"Partybot!"

And several missiles rocketed from the forgotten robot towards the oblivious boy. Crevice realised too late and shock was written all over his face when bright explosions peppered his force field just as he was about to reach his target, propelling him way out of reach of his prize. Catherine smirked as her objective was accomplished. The force field would probably prevent any damage but at least the mouse was not in Crevice's hands.

There was an ominous silence while she waited for the smoke to clear but instincts told her to dodge. She was glad she did for a burned hole was at where she once stood a second earlier. Scrambling behind her partybot, Catherine crouched to avoid another barrage of laser fires as her robot fired off the rest of its load to stop the few direct beams from impacting and rendering it an explosion of metal. Suddenly to her surprise, the shots ceased. From the smoke emerged a livid Crevice, holding his two glowing portals in both his hands and on his head, the antennas buzzed angrily with static.

"Not flying anymore?"

"Says the person who overloaded my force field." Crevice snapped back. "ZUGZWANG, ACTIVATE!"

What? Zugzwang's Last Move is a passive trap, is it not? Yet, the chess pieces that had been somehow placed around her without her knowing told Catherine otherwise. With a groan, the pawns drew their swords while the knight readied its lance and… is that arrows sticking out of the rook ready to be fired? Suddenly, her position is a lot more dangerous than it was a moment before. She had to act, and fast.

"Damned if I do and damned if I don't." Catherine muttered as she reached backwards into her backpack.

Crevice smirked. "Checkmate."

With a flourish, Catherine drew her Hunter's hammer from her bag and charged out from behind her sanctuary just as the four chess pieces closed in for the kill.

"Tell THAT to my hammer!"

Gripping her weapon as tightly as she could, she charged like a suicidal berserker even as the barrage of lasers came again. One of them hit her leg and she could hear Crevice swore but the pain was soon dulled by the adrenaline flooding her veins. Within several strides, Catherine had soon closed the distance and came in with a vicious horizontal sweep of the hammer.

Crevice only managed to avoid the capacitating blow by an inch when a flash of silver later sent shocks of pain throughout his whole body. Catherine had spun around using the momentum of swinging the hammer to bring her hunter's horn crashing right down on his head. But the opening was not to be missed. Bearing the pain the best he could, the boy slammed his fist into the girl's stomach and fired off a shadow blast from his portal at the same time.

There was a gasp of pain before Catherine literally flew backwards into a crumpled heap on the ground.

"I win!" Crevice declared as he let out a breath he did not realise he was holding.

"Oh really?" Came her voice, filling the former with a sense of dread.

Something was wrong, but what? A side-glance to the right told him the answer. On the boy's right shoulder blade was a mutated Venus mousetrap, jaws poised to bite into his neck.


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Training grounds – To set an Ambush**

Applause.

"Marvellous. Absolutely marvellous."

The sudden applause broke the tension between the two mouse-hunters, causing them to jerk their heads towards the newcomer in surprise. There, a clean-shaven man stood, his hand holding a struggling Kung-fu mouse by the tail with his pinkie and ring finger. His hair was shaggy and covered his face partially, further adding on to the mysterious aura he was exuding.

The strange person smiled and Catherine could have sworn there was a twinkle in his eyes. "Care to join this man for some tea?"

"Who are you?" Crevice asked first, naturally dubious of the man.

"Just a cheese seller, see?" He gestured to his side in reply.

Following his finger, Catherine could barely make out a rundown building with the sign [Etyloca's Cheese Shoppe]. If the man had not pointed it out, she would probably have missed it. Nobody other than those low on stocks would search for a cheese shop in the middle of a rat infested training ground, would they?

"Call me Etyl." He said, revealing pristine white teeth. "I was truly amazed by your wonderful performance and could use some professional help from able mouse-hunters, especially from the descendents of..."

Before he could finish, Crevice interrupted hastily.

"Enough with the flattery. Lead the way." He replied, purposely ignoring the confused looks the girl was sending him.

Catherine could only shrug as she followed.

"How did you know who I am?" was the first thing that popped out of her mouth once they were seated inside the shop with piping hot tea served in front of them.

The man only gave a knowing grin as he set down his own cup. "Consider it my hunch. I have a knack for knowing this kind of things, Miss Plankrun."

Catherine gasped, while Crevice rolled his eyes.

"Why do you need us?" the latter asked, not missing a single beat.

At that question, Etyl suddenly became forlorn and sighed.

"You see, there had been recent news that the mice of the Dojo are rallying together to mount an attack on the kingdom. They had been ransacking my shop for days now for supplies and it only serve to reinforce that belief. I fear for the kingdom as well as myself and thus need help from brave mouse-hunters to venture into the pagoda for a pest-clearing session."

Silence.

"You mean, you want two children to go inside and face an entire army of rodents that knew martial arts? Are you insane?" Crevice asked in total disbelief.

Etyl was quick to reply too. "Not if you make that new trap that you guys have the blueprint for."

"How in the world did you…" Crevice was suddenly stopped by the man's hand wavering dangerously close to his face.

"I was watching for quite some time. This is how I knew about your wager and I suppose the lady wins after that clever trick she pulled with that Venus mousetrap." Crevice groaned in humiliation. "Besides, I just happen to know how to make that Ambush trap and I will make it for you for free if you give me that blueprint."

Catherine's eyes immediately lighted up but she was a moment later surprised by Crevice standing up abruptly, spilling tea over the cups and onto the table.

He pointed a shaking finger towards Etyl. "Something is wrong. I can't put it down, but something is just not right."

"You are just jealous, Crevice."

"I AM NOT JEALOUS, WOMAN."

And he stormed out of the shop.

"Someone needs anger management classes." Etyl stated flatly.

Catherine only nod in reply.

It took only a day for the trap to be made. For that whole twenty-four hours, Catherine stayed over at the Cheese Shoppe, helping Etyl with anything she could do. The man was all the more happy to make use of the manpower. He made her fetch parts, buy food, clean up the place and even fan him while he worked. By the time he was finished, the poor girl was totally spent from staying the whole night up.

"Thank… you." Catherine groggily said as she took a small metal box from the cheese shop owner.

Etyl only smiled kindly. "You do know how to activate it right?"

Catherine nodded. She was about to turn and leave when Etyl then fished out a worn-out parchment, to which her eyes widened in sudden recognition. On it was an unmistakable handwriting, similar to the two pages she had already obtained.

"How…"

Etyl chuckled. "I had a few run-ins with your family. Lets just say we know each other pretty well. This," He waved the page for emphasis. "Has your grandfather's notes on the weaknesses the mice of the dojo has. Be sure to use them well."

"Thank you, again." Catherine took the journal page before bowing deeply in gratitude. Then, she left.

If Catherine had stayed around, she might have seen a smirk creep across the face of the man who made her the Ambush. If she had stayed longer, she might have seen a shadow flit across the room and converse with the man known as Etyl. If she had stayed, she might have heard … things.

"Etyloca, I never knew why you see the need to give all those hunters the tools to fight the Masters. They probably won't succeed the slightest. In fact none except for the most skilled have reached the top and even then they had lost, terribly."

The shadow suddenly quailed under the intense glare the shop owner gave it.

"Assassin. Don't think that just because you and your kind have failed means that others will. Besides, this is the spawn of the legendary Plankrun. She will not let me down."

"What… what about the boy?"

"Do what you wish. Although he is the scion of a powerful being, he is of no use to me if he is not swayed."

There and then, his face broke into a sinister grin, one that Catherine Plankrun would never ever have seen.

"When the clam and the crane fights, it is the fisherman that reap the rewards."


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Training grounds – Assassination **

Crevice lay glumly beneath the shade of a tree, idly looking through the leaves into the sky. It was not that he wanted to blow his top back then but being accused of jealousy when he was truly trying to help the both of them pushed him over the edge. That Etyl fellow gave off the scent of untrustworthiness and whatever he did made absolutely no sense.

The shop he had was pretty rundown, but still he had the funds available to supply strangers with materials to create a trap that would absolutely not benefit him a single bit, if you count the crap about a dojo uprising false. For the life of him, Crevice just could not figure out the intentions of the Cheese shop owner.

Something shifted in the distance, and Crevice focused his attention on the figure that had emerged out of the Cheese Shop. It seems that Catherine was done making the should-have-been-his Ambush trap, and was making her way towards the pagoda nearby.

Was she serious? Crevice cocked an eyebrow. It seems as if Catherine would be entering the Dojo as what the Etyl fellow intended after all.

"Dumb girl." Crevice spat. "Does she think she can survive kung-fu wielding mice alone, much less the Masters? This is suicide."

Something clicked into place.

What if the man by any chance **wanted** Catherine to perish within the Dojo? It might sound far-fetched, but it is entirely possible seeing how eager Etyl had wanted them to go inside.

"Damn it."

How he wished he had not arrived to this conclusion.

Perhaps he could try to warn her again. No, she probably would not listen. The time they spent together was not long but he could tell that Catherine was a headstrong girl, especially after she charged out from his carefully laid Zugzwang trap into his range of fire just because she refused to accept the checkmate. The bash on the head she gave still smarts but it was indeed fortunate that the Party Horn's power reduced the damage Hunters received. If not, he probably would have concussed right there and then.

Crevice rubbed his sore head unconsciously, torn between whether to follow the girl or to leave her to her own devices. It took only seconds before conscience won.

Just as he jumped up onto his feet, dozens of presences faded into existence around him, surrounding him like predators to a prey. Danger bells immediately sounded, and even though he could not see them, Crevice could feel them closing in onto him. Then, the biggest presence of them all made itself known.

It was an Assassin mouse in its traditional pink outfit, but only larger and the mark of shadow tattooed on its arm was highlighted in gold. However, what occupied Crevice's attention was not the Assassin in question but the fact that cold steel had just penetrated his right shoulder blade.

Heaven bless his reflexes.

A second later, the shadows burst open in tandem.

"Shit." Crevice cursed as he quickly ducked to avoid even more throwing daggers aimed directly for his heart. "Shit. Shit. Shit."

He reached to grab the hilt of the dagger that was embedded in his shoulder and pulled it out in one shot. Stifling a yelp of pain, he then rolled at once to dodge an incoming dagger that would have taken out his eye if he were a second late. However he was not unharmed. There was another wave of pain and the throbbing sensation in his left leg told him that it had been compromised.

"%^ $$%" Crevice screamed in agony as he desperately crawled towards his only hope – his backpack. Although it was merely a few feet away, the distance seems like an eternity.

Why in the world did he have the great idea of not carrying any of his traps with him? And he just has to leave his horn with them. At that very moment of time, Crevice swore to whatever deity out there that he would wear the NVMRC force field permanently, to hell with all the incredulous looks passer-bys will give him. That is, if he survives.

The pain intensified. Whichever bastard stuck the thing inside his leg is now moving it back and forth. With a perfectly aimed kick from the heels of his good leg, Crevice launched the culprit away to the side. The assassin mouse promptly crumpled onto the ground dazed.

"You stuck it in me, so IT IS MINE NOW, #$ %" He roared to no one in particular, waving the blood-stained dagger in his left hand around like a madman to blindly block and cut even as more Assassins swarmed him. As he dragged himself across the ground, he could feel another knife stabbing through his stomach, and his other leg, and…

Then suddenly, everything stopped, offering Crevice a brief respite. The boy wasted no time in assessing his own condition that turned out to be not very good, while the mass of assassin mice parted around him to reveal the large mouse from earlier.

"Human."

Crevice coughed blood. "That's Crevice to you, mouse."

The moment he spoke, the assassin mice erupted into indignant squeaks. The rodent in question however was unshaken.

"Let it be known before your dying breath that you have been terminated by the Master Assassin and his legion." It said condescendingly.

A mouse abruptly squeaked at the self-styled Master Assassin.

"Yes, yes. Too much Arnold Mousezeneggar, I know." The Master Assassin serenely waved the comment off before diverting its glare back to Crevice. "Give it up human. You have been terminated."

The Master Assassin caught the crazed glint in Crevice eyes too late. A quick glance at the boy's hand was all it needed. Somehow or another, his right hand had managed to reach his backpack and a rectangular shaped object came flying towards its face a moment later. Perhaps it was because of that, that the Master Assassin missed the boy's second action.

"BOOM, HEADSHOT!" Crevice hollered madly as the dagger he threw hit true, igniting the explosive base in a shower of brilliance and sparks. The incandescence swallowed the mouse whole. Not a squeak was heard, the only sound being that of the combusting air. When the fireworks faded, only a tail remained to prove that the Master Assassin had been there. He was about to throw another explosive base when the assassins, seeing their master's messy death, quickly scattered and melded into the shadows. Soon enough, their presence disappeared entirely from the scene.

"Thank god I packed all these impromptu grenades despite Grandpa's protests." Crevice murmured before the last of his strength left him and he fainted onto the bloody ground.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Meditation Room – Escalation **

"_It would do you good to learn some history, my dear."_

_A young boy frowned at the wizened face of his grandfather. "But Grandpa, I have read about the Trinity relationship of the mice for a dozen times, what else do I have to know?"_

"_One cannot claim to know everything, Crevice. Who knows if there is ever a fourth side to this civil conflict the mouse race had, besides Furoma, the Acolytes and the Tribes? Each side hopes to destabilise another so that they can overpower the rest and rule as the strongest and until the Fourth or even Fifth side arise and show themselves, we can never ever declare ourselves truly conscious of the world of mice."_

"_But I knew that already!" Came the boy's indignant cries._

_The elderly man only smiled. "Ah, but do you know that each side have developed artefacts of great power, namely the Onyx stone in the hands of the Master of the Dojo and the Frozen Scroll in the hands of the Acolytes?"_

_Crevice opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it and shook his head in embarrassment._

"_It is unknown what the Dragon holds but still, there must be a reason why the Acolytes tried to enslave it and fail to do so eons ago." Grandfather continued. "There had already been rumours that the Acolytes are trying something even when they are supposed to be incapacitated."_

"_But… but..." Crevice gasped, horrified at that particular notion._

"_No buts, young man. Why else do you think there are assassins in a Dojo, and sylvans in the Tribal Isles?"_

Legend had once said that the Dojo of Furoma belonged to a school of martial artists that had built the pagoda to honour their way of discipline and life. The grand teacher of the Dojo would reside upon the highest floor, while his direct disciples would train and live on the second and their own disciples in turn take the lowest floor. It forms a hierarchy, sacred and unwavering, and challengers of the dojo would proceed systematically from the students to the masters to the grand teacher himself.

Years later, when the original inhabitants had long abandoned the place, it was ironic that the mice which took up residence would follow the same caste system as the previous dojo owners. It was unknown how these rodents manage to gain the art of fighting, but it had been speculated that they found the books left behind and quickly assimilated the knowledge with their fast-growing intellect. It was even said that the mice added onto the infrastructure themselves and made the insides of the pagoda a living maze.

This was how Catherine found herself walking along an oddly shaped corridor on the second floor, lost. Her footsteps echoed off the creepy spear-adorned walls, making the place seems all the more desolated. Occasionally, the scurrying of tiny feet could be heard, but no matter how much she looked, she could never find the origins of the noise.

To top it off, shadows would flicker against the light from the oil lamps, creating shapes on the paper windows of the multitude of chambers. For the life of her, she dare not check any one of them.

Catherine plopped herself down against one of the oriental door in resignation.

"Nobody told me that there would be so many Meditation chambers here." She lamely said to herself. "Nor the fact this place seems to have come out from a cheesy horror flick."

Pun intended, of course.

On her head with roots entrenched in her hair, Venny cocked its head in confusion, worried that its mother had somehow lost it.

"I wonder if he is alright. It is times like this I need him around."

Crevice might have a bad temper, but it was probably in her best intention that he did not want her to enter this place. _Ah, but you do know why he said that now you have been here yourself_, said the smug voice in her head.

What would he have said if he knew the current situation she was in? Probably an "I told you so, woman," straight in the face.

However, the boy did not know the main reason of motivation that Catherine had, and regardless what he would say or would had done, there was no changing of her mind. She had a mission to fulfil, and she would not rest until she had met the Master of the Dojo. Besides, the offer to make a trap that powerful was too alluring. It was because of that Ambush that she made it past the students with only a few bruises to show for it. Pesky rodents mobbed her the instant she stepped inside the pagoda and it was lucky that the Ambush have eight androids to fend off the attacks.

Perhaps she should not have brought so many Brie cheese along.

Glutter, Combat and Susheese.

"Weird tastes these… masters have." Catherine commented off-handedly.

And everything happened at once. The door she was leaning on slide open to reveal an extremely oversized and half-naked mouse that towered menacingly over the startled girl, while an explosion on the wall opposite promptly showered her in debris. A lanky rodent made his way out of the newly made hole just as a short mouse appeared at the end of the corridor they were on. Well, it was not exactly short, but the third mouse was far smaller than the former two. However, size do not really matter when the mouse in question is carrying the biggest knife Catherine had ever seen and without any difficulty to boot.

The three mice only took one look at each other before they simultaneously broke into a hostile, "YOU!"


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Meditation Chamber – Romance of the three mice**

**#**

_Three blind mice. Three blind mice._

#

Keeping as calm as she could, Catherine smiled meekly at the three mice. "Umm…he…hello?"

She shrieked as the floorboards before her was blasted into oblivion. An inch and her leg would be gone as well The Master of the Cheese Claw blew off the smoke emitting from his finger before glaring straight into the girl's fearful eyes.

"Human."

Catherine squeaked as she instintively tried to back away, only to bump into soft furry flesh.

#

_See how they run. See how they run._

_#_

"She is mine. I am sure Mojo will be pleased..." Came a low drawl that was rudely interrupted by the smallest mouse of the three.

"Afraid not, Obelt. She's my prey."

"No she is mine."

"Mine!"

"MINE!"

There was a huge resounding explosion as a huge part of the wall was blown off, the clanging of the ornamented spears garnering the attention of both bickering Masters.

"Shut up! Obelt, Fangu, it will not do for us to fight like we do now. We must preserve the peace of our master now a hunter had broken through our students defences."

"Who died and make you Master of the Dojo, Eclaw?" The mouse named Fangu snapped, waving his knife around dangerously. "You have no rights to order us around!"

#

_They all ran after the farmer's wife_.

#

The Master of the Cheese Claw coldly pointed his finger at the mouse in response. "You will listen, or I will kill you and appoint one of your more reasonable students as Master."

"Oh yea? Try me."

It was the only sentence before a spear came flying towards the rodent, who immediately blasted it into shrapnel with his Finger of Doom. When the dust cleared, the Master of the Cheese Fang was already halfway across the corridor, charging straight towards them. Eclaw aimed his finger again and was about to fire off another blast when a strong hand gripped it and twisted.

**Crack. **

**And then a howl.**

"**$^#& YOU OBELT!"** screamed the Master before he was flipped and tossed painfully over Catherine and through the opposite wall.

The girl in question was in the meantime trying to make herself as small and as inconspicuous as possible in the pile of debris that had rained upon her. She stared wided-eyed as the Master of the Cheese Belt smoothly recovered from his throw and manoeuvred himself just in time to catch the Fang Master's vicious blade in his bare hands. Then just like that, he broke the knife into two before roundhouse kicking the mouse to the floor.

#

_Who cut off their tails with a carving knife._

#

"She is mine." The Master of the Cheese Belt drawled, painfully reminding Catherine that one of them still remember her existence. Fortunately, the girl was the furthest thing in the minds of the other two masters. In no more than two seconds, multiple beams of yellow energy burst from the hole the mouse named Eclaw had went through, forcing the Belt Master to enter into complex dance to dodge.

He would have escaped unscathed, if not for the fact that Fangu took the chance to grab the Belt Master by his feet. Several beams smashed against the obese mouse body even as he fell towards the floor, while the Claw Master emerged from the hole with his other hand literally in flames. Yet, somehow in a move that should have been impossible, the Master of the Cheese Belt righted himself halfway through his fall where he smashed the Fang Master's face in with his feet before throwing a series of punches straight for Eclaw.

"Listen to me, barbarians!" The mouse shouted as he dodged expertly. He then took advantage of the opening to slash Obelt in the chest with his sharp nails. "Listen to…"

Eclaw trailed off, not because he finally saw that the other two mice were beyond reason, but because a sinister sword was sticking through him. Even Obelt raised an eyebrow at this new development. The next moment, blood foamed at the Claw Master's mouth and he fell down dead.

_#_

_Did you ever see such a sight in your life,_

_#_

"Listen to my ass, Eclaw." Came the voice of Fangu. "Same goes for you, fathead."

And a broken knife pierced through the vulnerable flesh at Obelt's back.

"She is mine…" The latter drawled, before his eyes went hollow and lifeless.

The Master of the cheese Fang smirked in victory before making to pull his blade out. After a decade-long struggle, who knew that it would be him who emerged victorious out of this internal rivalry between the three schools? Now, he would above all and only second to the Master of the Dojo himself!

Imagine his horror, when he discovered that he could not withdraw his knife from Obelt's body. The muscles around the blade had been tensed up, preventing its removal. All of a sudden, Fangu realised what Obelt had wanted to do, but it was too late. The pulling had gave the standing chunk of flesh momentum, and within the next moment it came crashing down upon the smaller Master, crushing him beneath its immense weight.

Death was instantaneous for the weakened Master.

_#_

_As three blind mice._

_#_

Catherine removed the debris on top of her as she stood up upon her feet. She then surveyed the damaged done to the corridor and the dead bodies of the three Masters that littered the floor and sighed.

_#_

_Three blind mice._

_#_

"Oh well."

Crevice awoke with a start. Wasn't he supposed to be dead? He felt his wounds, and yes they were still there. The pain was pretty evident of that fact. However, sterile white bandages were covering them, and a person was sitting on a rock opposite him and was staring at him curiously.

This was a person he had seen before.

"Pray tell, boy. How did you get yourself in such a mess?" Larry asked. Although his armour was bloodstained and dented and his face looked worse for wear, he was Larry all right.

"Where is Catherine? Is she okay?"

It would make sense that her travel companion would search for her after they separated at the mausoleum.

"She went to the Dojo." He replied curtly, not really wanting to hold conversation with the knight.

However, at the mention of the pagoda, all the memories flooded back to him – The assassination. The possibility that Etyloca had a motive. The danger the place posed, and subsequent danger Catherine might be in.

"Hey, is this yours? I found this Ambush blueprints near you." The knight was shaking a piece of blue paper in his hand, before straightening it to read, "Lets see, five Splintered wood, eight Droid Parts, three Rice Paper, one Blueprint and of course the Master's seal. Exactly how I remembered it!"

The Master's Seal...

That is not possible...

With eyes as wide and bright as saucers, Crevice snapped to look at the knight who was confused by the sudden change in the boy's expression. From his mouth came the damning words.

"Unless Etyloca is not as simple as he seems,"

With each syllable, his voice became more haunted.

"He could not have given Catherine's Ambush the Master Seal."


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16.1: Pinnacle Chamber – To make the sun shine brighter**

"**_Sometimes, you will need to die first before learning how to live again."_**

To die… before learning how to live…

Pain.

Is she really going to die?

Droid parts lay broken around her prone body, memoirs of a one-sided battle that happened only just a moment before. Her Ambush was totally wrecked out of recognition, and the Rumble lay forgotten in a corner it was blasted into. Somewhere near the destroyed trap, a pile of twisted metal was scattered, with only a lone party hat to signify that the PartyBot had done its best.

It had been a total failure.

The Master of the Dojo serenely looked at the destruction around him, before striding over to the fallen Catherine. His left foot arced backwards in a graceful manner before it viciously impacted upon the girl's chest, sending her flying straight across the chamber and into the wall.

Pain. She gasped in pain as the air was forced out of her lungs and another as she slammed against the wall like a rag doll.

He shook his furry head.

"Hunters nowadays are challenging me with a Seal-less Ambush. Some even do so without the Rumble." The tone in his voice was frightening, yet his face showed nothing of the anger. "They even brought Brie into this sacred place."

"Show me some respect, young one."

And suddenly he was there by Catherine's side, driving a heel down onto her abdomen. The silent chamber instantly erupted into the girl's scream, which died down into a sobbing whimper after the Master removed his foot. Venny worriedly waved its leaves about in an attempt to console its master, but the only thing she did was to clutch her sore stomach in a fetal position.

"I can see in your eyes your determination. That which brought you to challenge me in the first place, which made you think you are invulnerable to death."

Grabbing the firmly entrenched Mutated Venus mousetrap by the stalk, the Master of the Dojo painfully pulled Catherine to her feet, his powerful arms not even feeling any difficulty at the human girl's weight.

"Then perhaps, I shall teach you of the gap of power that is between us. I shall teach you that no amount of determination could ever make up for the difference in ability. I shall teach you that without the ability to back up that determination, it still amount to nothing."

And he told the battered girl in his hand.

"I shall teach you despair."

**Chapter 16.2: Pinnacle chamber – One must first plunge the world into darkness.**

Darkness. She was back here again, in this world of nothingness. Only this time, no amber red eyes were staring straight into her soul, nor were furry paws that had wanted to drag her into their domain. All that was present in this realm was a small white screen that hung serenely in the air a few feet away.

Out of curiosity, Catherine looked, and was promptly shocked. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw a doppelganger of herself in an oriental chamber being roughly manhandled by what could only be the Master of the Dojo. She was in a total mess and her leg was twisted at an angle. Blood trickling down the side of her head and her mouth stood testament to what the Master had done and Venny had long since been violently detached from her hair with only a few roots left behind. The plant in question was in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Where has your resolve gone to, girl?" He asked, to which the limp figure he was holding did not reply. "Had you been broken already?"

"Those eyes that was so full of courage," He said. "Where art thy?"

When he got no answer, the Master forcefully kicked her across the room so that she slammed into the wall standing, the wall being the only thing supporting up her weakened body. While not a single sound except the cracking of the wooden splinters and perhaps bone was made, the Catherine in the world of darkness screamed.

"You are not dead yet…"

A voice different from her own came, answering her unspoken question. Catherine suddenly noticed a green translucent shape come into being beside the flickering screen. It formed a familiar entity that she had, to be entirely honest, forgotten about.

"You are not dead yet, but you will soon be."

"You are… the Sylph mouse." Catherine murmured.

The green little spirit only did a back flip in the air as confirmation to its identity.

The telepathic voice of the Sylph then rang again with a sad tone. "Have you not realise? This place is your mind. You are here only because your consciousness had detached itself from the pain as a temporary protection from the damage it would have received. But soon, when your real body dies, this place would too cease to exist."

The words it said carried a terrible weight, one that Catherine realised and understood. It was further intensified by the actions of the Master of the Dojo who was already holding a small but growing ball of unstable green energy in his paws. No matter how she looked at it, it looked deadly.

"It seems that you are fated to die here, young one." He told the unresponsive girl. "You are weak, after all."

"I am… weak?" As the Catherine in the darkness was stunned into silence, another screen flickered into existence.

"_Papa! Let me come along with you and Mama! I want to see the Brie gulls too!" A little girl dashed up to her parents. _

_The father gently smiled and picked her up into his arms. _

"_There now, Catherine, be a good girl and stay at home alright? Mama and I will be out to hunt those evil little rats. It will be a nice adventure I would say, just in time to get Mama her Knight rank."_

"_But I want to go too and punish those baddies with you." She whined, to no avail._

_Her father chuckled and put her down. "You are still too young and weak…"_

_And they walked out of the front door, leaving Catherine behind, again._

You are weak.

And because of that, you are all alone.

"I am weak." She choked back a sob as she shed tears she did not know she had.

There was a gentle caress on her head as the Sylph took Venny's place. "You are not, Catherine Plankrun. Tell the Wind why you became a hunter."

"I…I wanted to be strong. I want… want to go along with Mother and Father on their adventures. I… I don't want to be left alone…"

"Tell the Wind why you came on this journey."

"Because Father… was taken away from me." Catherine's voice became more and more coherent. "Because I want him back."

"Say that again. Tell the Wind."

Unnoticed to Catherine, the Sylph was glowing and unnoticed to her, the Catherine thought unresponsive had also been mouthing the exact same words she said.

"I want my father back."

The Master of the Dojo was pleasantly surprised when Catherine suddenly looked up. He had originally thought the girl was gone like many others before her but it was commendable that she still had the energy to move even after all he had put her through.

However, it was still too late. The attack had been completely charged and he hurled the green ball of power straight towards the girl. Soon, all that is left of her would be a pile of bones. A pity, she would be.

Wait, something was wrong. She had held out her hands. Impossible, she could not be able to reach any…

And yet she did. In a split second, the Hunter's Horn that he had knocked out of her reach came flying straight into her hand. The moment she touched the metal instrument, Catherine brought it into her mouth and blew. A pulse of green energy erupted from the horn, and out came neither a melody nor a note. It was a blade of concentrated air that cleanly sliced the incoming green ball into half. Catherine stood unflinchingly as the sliced energy ball demolished the wall on both sides of her, narrowly missing the girl.

There she stood, with her eyes that knew no fear meeting his.

"Magic." The Master of the Dojo remarked to nobody in particular, before he clapped his paws together and pulled them apart to generate two more of the same destructive ball, one on each of his paw.

"Perhaps you have learned to live again, young one."


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17.1: Pinnacle Chamber - The past will set you free**

"Judging from the dead and shard-less bodies of the Masters a level below, and all the sounds of explosions coming from behind this door, I can conclude that Catherine is in here, challenging the Master of the Dojo." Larry proclaimed in a victorious air, as though he just solved the most amazing puzzle of all time.

The boy next to him sighed. "No shit, Sherlock. One doesn't need a sign to know that this is the Pinnacle chamber."

"Actually there is one." Said the knight, pointing to a wooden sign that hung besides the dojo door. True enough, there wrote Pinnacle Chamber in bright red letters.

In a literally blink of an eye, the sign was blown into glorious bits along with the section of the wall it hung from right in front of their eyes. The next moment, the door violently slammed opened, releasing a vorpal gust of air that threatened to blow the two of them away. It was only with great effort that they did not lose their footing and with even more effort, managed to open their eyes amidst the sharp wind. There on both sides of the chamber stood Catherine and the Master of the Dojo respectively, the two of them encased within the full-scaled gale.

"She is injured." Larry gasped, to which Crevice face-palmed.

"Oh no, she isn't. That on her face was not blood at all and her leg was in perfectly good shape. And no, the two big gaping holes in the wall on both side of her are not there at all."

"Oh really? I thought it was the opposite."

Crevice sighed. Why did he even bother in the first place? Just as he was about to smack the knight unconscious "for the greater good", the forceful wind died as abruptly as it had came. To both Larry and his horror, a burst of blood splattered through the golden horn Catherine had been blowing before the girl erupted into a bloody coughing fit, trying desperately to keep herself standing at the same time. Then, the feared voice of the Dojo Master rang through his ears.

"It seems that you have reached your limit all the same, young one."

The Master of the Dojo was not spared from wounds either. Visible cuts by the merciless wind showed themselves through his fur and that itself was matted with his blood, giving it a terrible sheen of an aftermath of a costly battle. Panting as fiercely as Catherine was, he spoke,

"Your friends have arrived. You might still be saved if you retreat now." So, he had noticed them after all. "Do you still seek that answer which you came for?"

There was only a weak murmur from the girl, but all the people in the chamber could hear what she said, including the two bystanders.

"Yes." It came out more distinct now that the echoing howl of the wind had fully dissipated.

The Master of the Dojo shook his head sadly but there was something akin to respect in his rodent eyes. "Then perhaps you have earned that answer."

"Thank you." Catherine inhaled in surprise.

The powerful mouse revered at the pinnacle of the martial arts world only nodded in acknowledgement before opening his mouth to disclose the secret he has so closely kept, but no words came. Instead, out came a mouthful of blood before the rodent keeled over and collapsed into a pool of his own life liquid fuelled by the gaping hole in his chest. All three humans were shocked frozen by this recent development, and neither of them recovered until a new voice joined in the fray.

"Revealing the status of our race to humans is death regardless of faction, Mojo. The council will know of this and will approve of what I would have done." A much smaller figure said.

It was cloaked, and hooded and remnants of purple energy sizzled in its outstretched paws as it revealed itself from the shadows. The new mouse then knelt beside the downed Master, looking down into the pained face of its fellow mouse.

"Rest in peace, knowing that your Dojo will be crushed beneath my feet." The condescending tone sounded, infuriating the dying Master. Clenching his paws into a fist, he tried to punch the mouse in a last-ditched attempt but it was batted away effortlessly.

As though taking a candy from a baby, the mysterious mouse plunge its paws into the convulsing body of the Dojo Master where the heart should be and after a few seconds of sickening squishes, pulled out a round stone as dark as the purest night. It then held it out in front of itself, marvelling at the shine and aura that exude from the stone devoid of any stains of lifeblood.

Never looking down again, the mouse said as the Master of the Dojo finally stopped moving. "This shall be the last Onyx stone ever, for there will be no more Dojo left for their Masters to ascend to this position again."

And the mouse looked up directly at Catherine who had been looking at all that had happened with abject horror, red orbs glowing from beneath the shadows of the hood. "Thank you, girl."

Menacing purple energy cackled into life upon the mouse's bloodstained paws.

"Your aid has been helpful, so now die."

**Chapter 17.2: Pinnacle Chamber – And the Future chains us to Fate**

The moment the foreign aura entered the scene, Crevice knew at once that something was terribly wrong. The presence that had revealed itself was utterly mind-blowing. Never had he once felt such a terrible power emanating from a single mouse before, and not even his grandfather's might could come close. Add on the fact that this entity demolished the Master of the Dojo no less within a matter of _seconds_, there was every reason to fear it and its inhumane strength.

Acolyte.

The very rodent that should have been condemned to a life of eternality within the Trap of Infinity built by the legendary Plankrun was currently here, walking and moving towards an immobile Catherine that had neither the ability nor the strength to fight back before his very eyes. While he would like to know how this mouse could have been here, something had to be done fast, or they will all die within this Dojo.

"Knight, I will go in and distract him. You grab Catherine and run. You follow me?" Crevice spoke urgently, his eyes never leaving the figure of the arcane mouse. There was no doubt that Larry, who had been journeying far and wide, would recognise the mouse and the danger that it posed to them currently.

The silence that returned his instructions would be normally treated as an affirmative, but something was bugging him. Larry the knight was no normal person.

"Moustache man?" He tried again.

Silence.

The mouse hunter glanced backwards and was promptly greeted by a face he had never expected. Fury laced the edge of his face, while the knight's eyebrows furrowed in deep disgust. But the most frightening would be his eyes. There, a thinly veiled torrent of hatred raged, just wanting to burst out from its corroding dam any moment.

The acolyte mouse suddenly stopped in its track.

"Such a strong killing intent. I see that you have come, Larry." It turned to face the two of them, the edge of its mouth curling up into a smirk. "So, this girl is your adoptee. How… fitting."

"It seems that fate would like to play a joke on you, Larry, letting you see your adoptee die, twice."

With a furious yell of recklessness, the knight finally lost his cool and charged. Closing the distance with only a few strides, Larry drew his silver blade and brought it down upon the mouse, only for it to clash against an invisible force just inches from the rodent's head. Sparks flew as he tried to force it down, but to no avail. Then, as though an invisible punch was thrown, Larry was launched backwards and landed in an unsightly heap on the floor.

"Run, Larry, run. Every time you see me, you had ran. So run and flee. Why should this time be any different?" The Acolyte cruelly mocked.

The sound of clenched fist hitting the floor rang throughout the half-destroyed chamber.

"Why aren't you running? Or perhaps you need me to kill her, so that you will flee with your tail behind your legs like you had done before?"

With that, the mouse fired off a purple bolt of sizzling magic from its paw right at Catherine was.

"NO!" Larry screamed, amidst the subsequent echoing laughter of the Acolyte.

Suddenly, as the energy blast was mere seconds from impacting upon the helpless girl, a shrill whistle joined and dwarfed the laughter and scream. The whistle formed a quick tune that lasted for no more than two seconds and then, to the disbelief of all in the room, an intricate rune abruptly drew itself in front of Catherine before shattering as it absorbed the blow from the fatal magic.

As the energy backlash subsided, Crevice could be seen standing defensively in front of Catherine.

"Zugzwang." The Acolyte snarled. "Your turn will come. There is no need to be impatient."

"I am afraid I have to steal your thunder, Acolyte." Then, turning to Larry, Crevice shouted. "Get your ass out of here, knight! You won't be able to do anything! Run!"

That shout did nothing to shake Larry out of his stupor.

The visible mouth of the Acolyte twisted into a cold smile. "Yes Larry, run. You won't be able to do anything. Run like you had done before, like how Rissa had told you to."

"**You are still a coward, Larry, even after so long."**

"_You are still a coward, Larry, even after so long." It laughed. "Even after confronting me so many times, you still hide in my presence while your adoptee does all the work."_

_The girl pinned on the ground by sharp arcane rods groaned in pain._

"_Your knight in shining armour just refuses to come, girl."_

_The rodent lifted one of its furry feet and brought it down on the girl's head. "For someone who took it upon yourself to hunt down the lone Acolyte that had escaped the Trap of Infinity, you had been an absolute pain in the ass, Rissa."_

_The girl named Rissa only gurgled incoherently in reply as she lay beside her broken Acronym among the dirt of the Forbidden Grove. But judging from her body language, she was probably cursing the mouse to hell and back._

"_Hell, Rissa? I have been through it once and I have no plans to go back again. The temporal difference between here and the realm I was trapped in is large. Hours here where the portal is open is only a nano-second on the other side. After spending countless tries to get that particular instance right, you expect me to go back?"_

"_Run… Larry…" The girl painfully muttered, ignoring the Acolyte's monologue._

_A dangerous purple glow burst forth on one of its outstretched paws._

"_Maybe you should try the taste of Hell for yourself."_

_And it thrust the deadly energy down. _

_Before the bright flare of the purple explosion, a lone silhouette slinked away, tears streaming down his cheek trying in vain to wash away his guilt and sin._


	19. Chapter 18

**Redemption**

"I forgive… you."

Larry froze.

"Ri…Rissa?" His voice came, warbled and unsteady. "Is that you?"

Might it be that she had somehow survived? That she had escaped from the cruel grasp of death at the very last moment? And here she was, right in front of him, looking at him with that same look she would had given him, saying the very words he had wanted to hear. At first, her image was blurred, but as Larry frantically wiped his tears away, she became more corporeal. It was an impossible wish came true.

"I forgive you."

So, after ten long years of guilt and shame, he had finally been given a peace of mind. Tears came unbidden to his eyes as he cried again all his burdens that had weighted upon his heart for the past decade out, not caring that he as a man well into his forties was making a fool of himself. There, the mockery of Rissa watched impassively, until her mouth finally broke to form another echoing sentence that struck deep into his heart.

"It is okay to run away."

_It… is okay… to run away._

"It is okay to run away."

_It is okay to run away. _

"It is okay to run away."

_Run away… run away…_

"It is okay to run away." The edge of her mouth twisted to form a smile of malice.

_Run away… abandon them… save yourself. Coward. Run away. Run. Flee. Coward. Run. Flee. Why aren't you running? Coward. Get out of this place. Coward. Run._

Thereisnoplaceforyouhere.

-  
_**"I am Larry, Knight of the King of Gnawnia." Larry snarled. "Remember that well, monster."**_

And he charged, in a true Larry Jenkins way, for the first time in his life.

No.

*****************

The Acolyte smirked as he walked past the incapacitated Knight, his mind assault done. Humans are weak. All it took is one image of the girl dear to his heart and he was thoroughly broken, entrapped in his mind where he shall be driven insane, in a maddening delusion that would never end. Bring out the guilt, overload them and the man is no more.

Humans are weak, he reconfirmed to himself, except for a potential threat that he must eliminate. The Plankrun girl had already shown her ability to overcome all odds, and sooner or later would follow her accursed grandfather's footsteps to become a threat to his and the council's plans. Thanks to the fallen Mojo, she was weakened for the taking, and there is just the descendant of Zugzwang to consider.

Everything is in his control, just like how he had took the Onyx Stone that easily.

"Thank you girl." He said, holding up the jet-black stone for them to see. " You would never dream of how important this potent heart is to freeing the rest of my brothers from the Trap of Infinity."

"The rest…" The boy involuntarily gasped.

Understandable, considering how no one truly knew the might of the Forgotten Army.

"Oh? You think I am the only Acolyte in existence?"

Silence.

"Fools." And the Onyx stone pulsed angrily with an overbearing aura.

Wooden planks that made up the floorboards began to twist and turn all by themselves as they pulled free from their restrains. One by one, nails flew from their resting places with an ominous twang and tiles shattered. With a loud shudder, the whole chamber broke apart from its very foundations and came alive. The might of the rock he held was unbelievable. By just a stone alone, the entire chamber had warped into a grotesque living entity that would abide to his every command. The Acolyte's eyes glowed as he drank in the power bestowed by the Onyx stone and he set the first task for the "thing" he had created.

"Erase the girl."

Tendrils of twisted wood instantly snapped and snaked towards the duo. The first wave was obliterated by an sudden chain of explosion set off by a flurry of thrown explosive bases, but even as the dust settled, more had risen to replace them.

" ^%#$%!" The boy cried as he finally found out that his feet had been held in place by the living floorboards beneath his feet. With a flourish, he drew his Portals and fired downwards, not caring that he was burning away both the wood and his own shoes. He then aimed at the Acolyte without missing a beat and launched a barrage of shots. It was in vain. Tendrils would take the hits for the arcane mouse and more would spring forward to strike down the young couple.

They were mere ants dancing in his palm that he would soon crush.

Until the Onyx stone suddenly broke into half with a loud ching. Tendrils of vicious sharp wood stopped dead in their tracks and fell to the ground lifeless as the power fuelling the room was suddenly cut but before the Acolyte could realise what had happened, sharp pain flooded his body as a silver blade embedded itself into his back.

"You… escaped?" The mouse could only ask in disbelief.

Larry the Knight ignored him however, and instead yelled to Crevice. "RUN! TAKE HER AND RUN!"

Crevice needed no telling twice. Scooping up the injured Catherine in his arms, he carried her bridal style and immediately leapt through one of the holes made by the girl's battle with the Master of the Dojo and into thin air.

"%#^# YOU!" The Acolyte screamed as they disappeared out of view.  
" $%$ YOU TOO!" Larry screamed back.

And a second later the Pinnacle chamber exploded in a vibrant display of purple and black that shot straight up to the heavens. The mini-bomb violently shook the whole dojo and gave the structure its last straw. With a groan, the foundations of the Dojo finally gave out and the majestic pagoda began its slow dismantle into the ground, collapsing upon itself. When only dust and debris remained, only a shrill whistle signify any remaining signs of life.

*******

"Larry…" Catherine muttered weakly.

Crevice only glanced at her, his mouth was still producing his magical sound as they began their slow descend towards the ground. They were encased in various runes that presumably slowed their fall. However, what was on her mind was not how they worked, but Larry.

When they touched down, Catherine immediately shoved herself away from Crevice and stumbled weakly towards the rubble, only to be stopped by the boy's hand. She looked up, fearing his ridicule, only to see his sad eyes looking back into hers.

"I will help you find him." He said softly.

Hundreds of broken bodies were among the debris, all belonging to the mice of the Dojo. Aspiring students, hardworking Workers and even the serving Hapless were among the many crushed when the Dojo caved upon itself. Yet, what interest the two survivors the most would only be an armoured body of a man.

Many overturned stones later, neither one of them found the Knight. Just as they were about o give up, the glint of metal caught Catherine's eyes. It was the unmistakable sight of an armour gauntlet.

"Larry!" She gasped, and a moment later Crevice came dashing past her, already lifting away the wooden beam crushing the hand. Add a bit of digging and clearing the debris and they finally unearth the prone body of her dearest mentor. Fearing for the worst, Catherine checked for any signs of life.

She got none.

It took a full five seconds for the impact to hit her head, and she broke into full-fledged tears.

"Larry…" She mouthed amidst sobs, not wanting to accept that the person who had kick-started her mouse-hunting career now lay dead in front of her. Was it her fault, or not? Catherine did not care anymore. All she wanted at the moment was the knight to show any signs of life.

Any at all.

Please.

Yet, what answered her was not Larry but Crevice. Soft hands caress her cheeks from behind, wiping away the trail of tears that had made their way down. They provide comfort and support and a sense warmth Catherine appreciated.

"I think we should bring him home." He said in a gentle but firm tone. "You need to recuperate as well.

Catherine only nodded in tearful silence as she stood up and into Crevice's embracing hug. They will first find whatever remains of her traps, and then they will head home. There, they will give the Knight of Gnawnia a honourable burial and finally discover the one half of the True Onyx stone that had been firmly grasped in Larry's cold hand the whole time.

And Catherine Plankrun would finally understand why there was a peaceful smile on Larry's face in his death.


End file.
